Employee complaints to city hall’s human resources department dipped slightly last year, but that doesn’t include several dozen allegations of workplace harassment that were directed to an outside law firm called in to launch an independent review.

A new report with 2018 statistics on human rights, code of conduct and workplace violence complaints made to administration shows a total of 57 complaints or requests for information were made to city hall’s human resources department last year, down from 66 the year before.

But in March, claims of workplace harassment and bullying that were levelled against city hall last year prompted council to call in a prestigious Toronto law firm to launch an independent review of complaints and policies.

The latest report on that review by Rubin Thomlinson reported 39 complaints were made through the third-party review, of which 19 have triggered investigations.

About 3,000 people work at city hall.

Coxhead said the nature of the inquiries and complaints to the human resources department “run the gamut.” The 57 made last year include requests for information and both formal and informal complaints.

“It’s about altering behaviour so that whatever made one uncomfortable or feel unsafe in the workplace, that ends. That’s the goal, always,” Coxhead said. “Typically, someone says something that makes someone else uncomfortable, and it’s substantiated and then we act accordingly. A lot of them are along those lines.”

Six inquiries or complaints were related to human rights, and 49 were related to the employee code of conduct. Two fell under workplace violence.

All but two of the 57 were “resolved” last year. That could mean an investigation, appropriate discipline, a resolution worked out informally or a determination that the complaint was unsubstantiated.

More detail, or context about the complaints, weren’t included because of privacy concerns, Coxhead said.

“These are all personnel and (therefore) confidential issues. Most people are still in the workplace, and we’re trying to create an environment where a perpetrator and complainant can move forward together. They have to work together,” he said.

But a workplace harassment expert who once worked for the City of London said the numbers don’t paint a full picture without more information.

Catherine Burr, who specializes in the investigation of workplace harassment and was hired by city hall in 2002 after a case of sexual torture involving two employees rocked the city, said the report is “real bare bones.”

“The reality is that it’s not so much what’s reported as it is what’s left out,” she said. She said city hall needs to outline the nature of the complaints, for example, whether they involve sexual or workplace harassment, bullying or discrimination.

And the number of requests and complaints made to human resources may not tell the full story, she added, pointing to the ongoing review of city hall’s harassment policies.

“It may well be that the complaints have been siphoned up, and maybe appropriately, to the third party,” she said. “You get these numbers and it can be very unclear. I’m not saying misleading, but I’m not sure what it means.”

Coun. Josh Morgan, chair of the corporate services committee where the report is headed next week, said he’s not concerned by the level of detail in the human resources report, saying employees don’t want their concerns “put in a report in any level of detail.”

And the fact that city hall initiated an outside review with an aim to improve policies is a good sign, he added.

“I certainly think we’ve set out on a path to make improvements to our process with the goal of creating a safe and comfortable work environment for each and every employee,” Morgan said.

“To me, you’ve really got to look at what are outcomes going to be, not how the numbers fluctuate by a few every year.”

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